The scattered all-day rain didn’t stop the success of the second annual Trump Invitational Grand Prix held at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Presented by Rolex, Equestrian Sport Productions and Donald Trump, the event took place earlier this year in January.

Source: chronofhorse.com Jumper rider Saer Coulter will be adding a new grand prix mount to her stable: Mr. Whoopy. Coulter’s family farm, Copernicus Stables, purchased the Hanoverian stallion (Contendro—Whoopy, Watzmann) from Simone Otus Coxe earlier this week. Mr. Whoopy, 12, campaigned through the 1.60-meter level with Duncan McFarlane, who rides for New Zealand but is based in San Ramon, Calif. McFarlane has been riding Mr. Whoopy since the stallion was 5 and brought him up the ranks. They finished second in the 2011 HITS Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix (N.Y.), won two FEI World Cup Qualifiers in 2012, and earned several top placings in 2013 to boost McFarlane to fourth in the current North American West Coast League World Cup standings. “Duncan has done such a nice job bringing him along,” said Coulter, San Francisco. “Being from California, we’ve watched the horse for many years do impressive things. He’s jumped a lot of clear rounds in many different locations, and he’s been really consistent. We were very lucky he became available.” Read...

Champion show jumper, Richard Spooner is taking an unusual approach to obtaining his newest steed. The equestrian icon is known for being only the 10th equestrian to make more than 1 million dollars in equestrian competitions. Spooner has been consistently winning titles since about 1988. In addition, he’s ridden roughly 20 different Grand Prix horses. His great success in the equestrian world has earned him the title, “Master of Faster,” but, strangely, this time around, this “Master,” is turning to the public to find his next top horse. Spooner has announced that his hopes for this new horse are that it will quickly be able to compete at the Grand Prix level or show jumping. Although he hasn’t stated which particular horse he hopes to purchase, he has stated that he has prospects for said horse and has yet to make up his mind. Although crowdfunding has surged in popularity over the past several years, to some people it still remains somewhat of a mystery. Crowdfunding is a practice that many have found successful in recent years. The idea is that while many people have excellent ideas that they’d like to put into action, they can’t always be enacted, due to lack of monetary funds. Additionally, there are many people out there who would like to contribute to interesting projects, but aren’t sure where to start. Enter crowdfunding. Crowdfunding takes place on a variety of online websites. The websites provide a place for people and organizations with big ideas to post descriptions of their products, and often even samples along with information about how much money is required to...

The sport of competitive horseback riding has produced many fine jumper riders and trainers and these three men will be considered among the legends of our time. George Morris George Morris is one of the greatest living athletes in the sport today. He was the youngest rider to ever win the Maclay medal and the AHSA Hunter Seat medal final when he was only 14. Throughout the 1950s and 60s he rode for the US on eight Nations Cup teams and in the silver medal-winning team at the 1960 Olympics. In later years he has become one of the sport’s foremost Chef d` Equipes, with three of his students as part of the 1984 Olympic gold-medal team, 3 other students competing in 1992, 3 in 1996, and he even had a student in the 2004 gold medal-winning team. Today he serves as a member of the USHJA Trainer Certification Program Committee, and the USHJA Hunt Seat Equitation Task Force among other honors. Bernie Traurig Bernie Traurig is not only an excellent rider, but an excellent trainer and teacher as well. He started riding at age 11, and had his first win in 1961, winning the AHSA medal finals and the ASPCA Maclay medal finals on his horse Trouble Maker. Since then, he has participated in over 60 show Jumping Grand Prixs and 15 dressage grand prixs worldwide, including 8 World Cup finals, and has reached the top in all 3 Olympic disciplines. He was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame in 2009, and today stands as the West Coast’s assistant Chef d` Equip to legend George...

Anyone with a love of horses and show jumping or a child with dreams of future Olympic equestrian competition will be very interested to learn that Hunter Harrison’s Connecticut estate in Ridgefield, Double H Farm, has just gone on the market. This amazing property has three houses, a Grand Prix jumping field, two barns and an Olympic level equestrian training facility, all set amid 87 acres of open spaces, lush lawns and riding trails. This can all be had for the tidy sum of $55 million. The 14,500 sq. ft. main house was built in 2009 but there are two other homes on the property, one of them a renovated 18th century house. However, the stand-out features of the estate are the equestrian facilities. Originally the oldest working dairy farm in the state, dating from around 1765, the property was renovated in 2005 and now includes two barns with close to 40 stalls, an indoor ring, an outdoor ring, two horse walkers and a treadmill. The 3.5 acre Grand Prix jumping field features all of the jumps that a competitor would ordinarily find in European competitions and is overlooked by a viewing stand. Paths meander along the farm’s many wooded areas and with almost 90 acres, riders will not want for privacy. Great care was taken with the design of the stone and timber main house, which includes six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, to ensure it would be environmentally friendly. The house’s heating system is a state-of-the-art geothermal system. In addition to indoor and outdoor kitchens, formal dining room and a living room with 38-ft. ceilings, the house boasts...